"Please wait a moment, you three."

Zhao Lin gave a slight fist-and-palm salute, left the main gate open, and hurried to the back courtyard.

"Master, there are three people outside looking for you. They say they’re from Yanyun Mountain."

"Yanyun Mountain?"

Zhu Huaishan stood up from his chair. "Did you hear them correctly?"

"Clearly..."

Receiving the confirmation, Zhu Huaishan hastily walked out.

The disciples who were practicing all stopped and exchanged quizzical glances.

"Who has such airs that Master has to greet them personally?"

"I’m completely baffled. Want to go take a look?"

"Let’s go!"

When Zhu Huaishan arrived at the front courtyard and saw the old man and his two companions, his expression grew solemn. He bowed and said, "Elder Fan."

Seeing this, the disciples and apprentices of the Liuhe Sect all bowed in unison.

The old man tapped his cane and waved his hand. "You are the master of a sect now. Let’s dispense with these empty formalities."

"Yes."

Zhu Huaishan replied in a low voice and led the three of them to his study.

"They must be close. This is the first time I’ve ever seen Master receive guests in his study."

"Master has his own lineage, too. They must be elders from his original sect, right?"

"Their auras are so powerful. I wonder what their cultivation levels are..."

As the disciples discussed curiously, Zhao Lin noticed that his Senior Brother, Gao Yuan, hadn’t said a word. ’He’s probably like me,’ Zhao Lin thought, ’and has already guessed their origins.’

Yanyun Mountain was in Yan Province, the very location of the Xingyun Sect’s headquarters.

He had captured Wen Gensheng, a renegade of the Xingyun Sect. It was only logical that they would send people to Ying Province to verify the matter.

After mulling it over, Zhao Lin had pieced together the gist of the situation.

A short while later, the study door opened.

"Zhao Lin, come in for a moment." Zhu Huaishan leaned out and beckoned to him.

Zhao Lin answered and quickly walked into the study.

Some of the disciples were surprised, others envious. Only Gao Yuan showed a hint of disappointment on his face.

Inside the study, the old man sized Zhao Lin up and nodded in approval. "He’s a natural-born martial artist."

Zhao Lin said in a deep voice, "Senior, you flatter me."

"You’ve done well!"

The old man praised him, then sighed softly. "I thought I’d never see justice for Lian’Er in this lifetime. I never expected that beast to fall into your hands."

"I’ve read the case file. You are very resourceful. Someone else might not have seen through that scoundrel’s tricks."

Zhao Lin listened quietly. ’What’s the use of just praise?’ he thought. ’Get to the good stuff.’

As if hearing Zhao Lin’s thoughts, the old man continued, "Rest assured, although thirty years have passed, the bounty from back then is still valid. You will definitely receive the promised Moisturizing Pill."

Zhao Lin was secretly overjoyed but kept his expression neutral. "Thank you, Senior."

"You’ve earned it."

The old man turned to Zhu Huaishan with a smile. "This disciple of yours is not bad. Once he reaches the Qi Realm, don’t keep him cooped up here. Send him to Yanyun Mountain sooner rather than later."

Zhu Huaishan smiled. "That was my intention as well."

Zhao Lin listened for a while, but when the conversation no longer concerned him, he took his leave from the study.

"Junior Brother Zhao, who were those visitors? What did they want with you?"

The moment Zhao Lin came out, he was surrounded by the other disciples. Yuan Cheng was the first to step forward and ask.

"A few days ago, I caught a fugitive who had committed crimes in Yan Province. The visitors came to ask me a few questions about it."

Zhao Lin only mentioned the case, saying nothing about the Xingyun Sect or the Moisturizing Pill.

Yuan Cheng blinked. "That’s it? Nothing more?"

Zhao Lin spread his hands. "What else? It was just a few words."

...

「Late October. A day of rest.」

He didn’t have to be on duty today, so Zhao Lin woke up early as usual. After breakfast, he went straight to the Liuhe Sect.

As he entered, he leaned his back against the doorframe to measure his height.

’Good,’ he thought. ’My height hasn’t changed this month.’

Ever since absorbing the Essence Souls of the old yellow ox and the bear, Zhao Lin’s height had shot up. He had grown ten centimeters in half a year, and his physique had become much more robust.

Zhao Lin had been a little worried he would keep growing endlessly and turn into a monster like the Incredible Hulk.

Fortunately, that didn’t happen. His height had basically stopped increasing over the past two months, and his muscles were no longer getting bigger.

He had figured out the reason: the Essence Souls of the ox and the bear promoted strength, but the Essence Soul of the Black-horned Antelope focused on speed and agility, preventing his body from overdeveloping.

The two forces promoted and restrained each other, allowing Zhao Lin to achieve a good balance between strength and speed.

Besides, increasing strength didn’t necessarily require bigger muscles; strengthening them could achieve the same effect.

In this world, the length of one chi was about the same as the span of Zhao Lin’s hand, so he estimated one chi was equivalent to about twenty-five centimeters from his past life.

By that calculation, his height was nearly 1.8 meters, making him a true seven-chi-tall man.

Around nine in the morning, He Qingquan suddenly paid a visit.

Zhao Lin assumed there was business from the yamen and asked, "Old He, what is it?"

He Qingquan wore a smug expression and smiled. "Constable Zhao, good news! The Golden Leopard has been caught!"

Zhao Lin was overjoyed and quickly pulled him outside to talk. "Alive or dead?"

"Alive, of course. I wouldn’t mess up something you asked me to do."

He Qingquan said with a grin, "Zhongyuan Hall sent someone to inform me this morning. By the way, should we have them deliver it, or should we go pick it up?"

"If they deliver it, we’ll have to pay a tax to get it through the city gate."

As He Qingquan spoke, he pointed across the street where a young servant in blue, who looked like a shop assistant, was standing.

Without a second thought, Zhao Lin said decisively, "I’ll go get it!"

If something happened during transport—if the leopard got lost or died—then all his efforts would be for nothing.

He Qingquan walked to the side of the street, spoke a few words to the young servant to send him away, then returned and took out half of a contract tally from his clothes.

"The other half is at Zhongyuan Hall. Just give them this, Constable."

The contract tally was a wooden plank. The terms of the agreement were carved on one side, and then it was split down the middle, with each party holding one half.

"Constable, do you want me to go with you?" He Qingquan asked.

"No need. I can go by myself."

As he spoke, Zhao Lin took out a piece of silver from his clothes. "For your trouble, Old He."

...

A quarter of an hour later, Zhao Lin, having changed into plain clothes, left the Liuhe Sect.

As he was leaving the city, he bought a few meat-filled flatbreads from a stall by the gate, wrapped them up, and tucked them into his clothes.

Based on past experience, he knew absorbing a new Essence Soul would make him ravenous, so he had to prepare food in advance.

Just before noon, Zhao Lin arrived in Lisha Town.

He extended his hearing for a moment, and after confirming no one was tailing or ambushing him, he entered Zhongyuan Hall. He walked up to the counter and placed the contract tally gently on the table. "Shopkeeper, has the beast I ordered arrived?"

The pharmacy’s Shopkeeper glanced at the tally and pulled a nearly identical wooden plank from a drawer.

When the two halves of the tally were put together, they fit perfectly.

"Good. Since you’ve come to pick up your order as agreed, I’ll return your deposit now."

"The deposit was ten taels, minus a two-tael fee. Here are eight taels of silver. Please take it."

Zhao Lin took the silver and asked, "Where is my quarry?"